Race to the Buffalord
by Musical Ninja
Summary: While out on patrol, Snotlout investigates a seemingly abandoned fishing boat and contracts a deadly plague known as "The Scourge of Odin". Now the other dragon riders must race against time to get the cure, or they will lose their friend to the plague. My version of "The Buffalord Soldier".
1. The Dangerous Encounter

**Disclaimer :** I do not own the "Dragons" franchise. The franchise is the property of Dreamworks animation studios.

 **Author's Note :** I came up with this one a while back. I noticed that three people have written stories where Hiccup catches the Scourge of Odin instead of Astrid, but I wondered how the story might play out if it had been Snotlout. I kept on thinking about it and this story is what I came up with. I'm not sure how accurate this is to how things would actually play out on the show, but this is my idea; there's no wrong way to fantasize.

Well, here it goes. I hope you like it. As usual, my only rule is No Flames. Constructive criticism and helpful suggestions are welcome, obviously. Please be honest.

* * *

 **The Dangerous Encounter**

The sea was calm and quiet during the morning, not a sound to be heard, save for the waves and a few seagulls. Suddenly, the silence was disturbed by a Monstrous Nightmare flying at high speed through the sky just above the water with a human on his back

"Woooohoooooo!" The rider, Snotlout Jorgenson cheered as his dragon, Hookfang, soared through the sky. And then he leaned right and splashed water from the sea before doing twists and turns through the sea stacks. "Yeah! That's it, Hookfang! You got this! Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi, oi, oi!"

The dragon finished his display by flipping in mid-air and then landing on top of a sea stack and setting his whole body ablaze. Snotlout wooted and pumped his fist in the air.

Snotlout smiled proudly at his dragon and said, "That was awesome, Hookfang! _You_ were awesome! I'd like to see Hiccup and Toothless try to top _that_! Ha, ha!"

Hookfang doused his flames and purred, happy to receive praise from his rider. They may have disagreements and he might pull some tricks on his rider that he thinks are funny, but that did not mean that they disliked each other.

Snotlout then stretched and said, "Well, I'd say this area checks out. No enemies for miles. Looks we can head back to the Edge and tell the others that everything's..."

Snotlout did not get to finish his sentence because Hookfang started growling. He looked in the direction where Hookfang was growling and saw mist up ahead. Upon closer inspection, Snotlout noticed something inside the mist. Snotlout then took his spyglass out of his dragon's saddle bag and looked through. When he did that Snotlout noticed that the thing inside the mist was a boat; a fishing boat by the look of it.

"I see it, Hookfang. We should get out of here and tell the others," said Snotlout. He was about to turn Hookfang around to head back to the Edge when he got another idea, "On second thought, let's go check it out now."

On his rider's order, Hookfang took to the air and flew towards the boat. He landed on the deck and allowed his rider to dismount him. Snotlout grabbed his axe and took a fighting stance. He signalled for Hookfang to get battle ready, which he did and started looking for any signs of life. Upon looking, Snotlout began to notice that the boat looked like it had not been kept for some time.

"Must be abandoned. What a rip-off," said Snotlout. And then he shrugged and said, "Oh well. C'mon, Hookfang, let's get out of here."

He was about to mount his dragon and leave, when suddenly, Snotlout heard glass shattering followed by a painful scream. Snotlout felt really nervous when he heard that and was about to get on his dragon to leave. He then remembered his father.

* _Flashback_ *

 _Little Snotlout cried his eyes out as he sat in his bed. He screamed for his parents to help him as he listened to the scratching noises outside his window. His father finally came in to check on him._

 _"What's the problem, Boyo?" Spitelout asked._

 _"There's a dragon trying to break into my room!" Snotlout cried._

 _Spitelout smacked himself in the head and said, "Really, Boyo? You're crying because of scratching sounds?"_

 _"But the dragon's gonna eat me!" Snotlout cried._

 _"That's not a dragon! It's just some tree branches scraping against the window," said Spitelout, "You're a viking, Snotlout. Vikings don't get scared and run away from every little sound they hear. Toughen up, Boyo."_

 _Snotlout sniffled and then lied back down in his bed to try to sleep. As he watched his dad leave the room, Snotlout could have sworn he caught a glimpse of his mother shooting his father an annoyed look._

 _*End Flashback*_

With his father's words in mind, Snotlout changed his mind and went to take a look inside the boat. He slowly walked into the entrance to the lower deck, axe in hand, and looked for any signs of life. He saw nothing at first, so he decided to call out to whoever might have made the noise.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Snotlout called, "Hello?"

Snotlout then smelled the air and recoiled in disgust as his nose picked up something revolting.

"Ugh! Gross! What stinks in here?" Snotlout asked no one in particular. He then found a torch on the wall and grabbed it. He held the torch up to his dragon and asked, "Hookfang, can you give me a light?"

Hookfang breathed fire on the torch, lightning it up. Because he was too big, Snotlout had Hookfang wait on the deck while he searched the inside. With that, Snotlout cautiously walked inside the boat and again started calling out to whoever might be inside.

"Hello? Anybody here? Help me out a bit here. Will ya?" Snotlout called, trying hard to ignore the stink. Once he reached the end of the hall, Snotlout gasped at the sight before him; finally realizing why no one answered his calls and why it smelled so bad in there. "Oh my gods. This can't be happening."

Snotlout started slowly back away in fear. Then suddenly, a green skinned hand grabbed his left arm and scratched it. Snotlout screamed in horror and threw the torch down on the floor. He then raced out and back to the deck, back to Hookfang.

"Hookfang, we gotta go!" Snotlout screamed. He noticed Hookfang looking at his arm, "I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

With that, Snotlout and Hookfang took to the sky and flew away. Snotlout's hope was that once he got back to Dragon's Edge, he could just forget the whole thing.

* * *

Back at the Edge, Hiccup was in the clubhouse having Toothless weld a broken connecting rod back together. Hiccup was wearing a pair of spectacles over his eyes. Right in the middle of welding, Fishlegs took notice of the spectacles.

"Interesting material," said Fishlegs, referring to the lenses, "Seems organic in nature."

"Deathsong Amber hammered thin," Hiccup explained, "This is strong enough to stare straight into the eyes of a Flightmare."

"Fascinating," said Fishlegs, "May I?"

"Please. I insist," said Hiccup, handing over his spectacles.

Fishlegs took the spectacles and put them on. He gasped in delight as he watched Toothless weld the metal. While this happened, Astrid entered the clubhouse, the twins following close behind. Hiccup noticed that Snotlout was not with them, which he found curious because he should have returned from patrol by then.

"Shouldn't Snotlout have been back by now?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm sure he's fine, Hiccup," said Astrid, reassuringly, "He probably just got distracted or lost."

"Or maybe he got eaten by a Scauldron," said Tuffnut, sounding like nothing was wrong.

"Tuff, that's rediculous," said Ruffnut, "If anything, he's been captured by Hunters."

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the twins and then turned to Astrid and Fishlegs and said, "I'll give him five more minutes and then I'm going to go look for him."

"You don't have to," said Tuffnut, "Here he comes now."

Everyone looked up and saw Hookfang land outside the clubhouse. Snotlout dismounted the dragon and walked over to his friends, still clutching his arm. Hiccup noticed the scared look on his face and became concerned.

"Snotlout, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked, "Did you see something on patrol?"

Snotlout nodded his head, too freaked out to talk.

"What was it?" Fishlegs asked, "Hunters? Trapped dragons? Viggo?"

Suddenly, Tuffnut appeared next to Fishlegs and said, "Oh! I love this game! Okay, now it's my turn, everyone quiet. Snotlout, is what you found bigger than a yak box?"

Snotlout walked to the opposite side of the room and said, "I found a boat. I think it was a fishing boat."

"I'm supposed to guess before tell me. Doesn't anyone know how to play this game?" Tuffnut whined. And then he smirked at his sister and said, "But just for the record, a boat is bigger than a yak box. So, I'll just score this one win for the old T-nut. Scratch one-off in the Tuff...nut... column."

Tuffnut slowed down as he realized that Snotlout still had his back to everyone else. It was also not hard to tell that he was still pretty freaked out instead of being annoyed with him like usual; this was not typical behavior for Snotlout.

"That boat was just drifting out there," Snotlout explained, "Hookfang and I went to take a closer look. At first we didn't find anything, but I looked inside... I found... I found... Oh gods."

Astrid could see that he was bothered by something, but they had to know what happened.

"What was it?" Astrid asked, "What did you find?"

Snotlout was silent for a moment and and then he slowly turned to face his friends and said, "Bodies. Dead bodies. It was the freakiest thing I've ever seen. We got out of there as fast as we could."

Hiccup noticed that Snotlout had taken his hand off his arm and saw four scratches. "What happened to your arm?" Hiccup asked.

"This?" Snotlout asked, looking at his scratches, "A guy from the boat grabbed my arm and scratched it with his nails."

"Wait. There was a survivor?" Fishlegs asked, "Shouldn't we go get him?"

"It's already too late," said Snotlout, "By the looks of it, it was too late before I got there."

"Oh," said Fishlegs, feeling bad about what happened, "Well, you should let us clean and bandage your arm. It might get infected."

"Okay," said Snotlout.

Fishlegs led Snotlout over to the table and then grabbed his med kit. Fishlegs proceeded to clean up Snotlout's scratches and then wrapped a bandage around his arm. Once he was done, Fishlegs advised him to not get it wet for the next few days.

Hiccup sat down next to his cousin and asked, "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Snotlout. He let out a sigh and added, "I just wanna forget the whole thing."

"Okay," said Hiccup, "We don't have to talk about it anymore."

Snotlout then smiled at Hiccup and said, "So, did Astrid seem worried about me?"

Hiccup smiled as he rolled his eyes at Snotlout. As annoying as he can be, it was good to know that the experience with the boat did not change his cousin's attitude. If only he knew what was to come. For within his very blood stream was... The Scourge of Odin.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So, what do you think? Good set up, right? I may have made Spitelout seem like more of a jerk than necessary, but as I was writing, it just felt like the right way to go for the flashback. Like I said, be honest.


	2. Frightening Discovery

**Author's Note:** Here's chapter 2. Bet you weren't expecting this so soon. Well, I originally had this as part of chapter 1, but then I figured it might work better as a second chapter.

* * *

 **Frightening Discovery**

Later that night, Hiccup was sound asleep in his bed, Toothless by his side, when they were awakened by the sound of a crash.

"What the-?!" Hiccup asked, nearly jumping out of bed. He and Toothless then heard a panicked roar and looked down to see Hookfang roaring and knocking things over. "Hookfang?!"

Seeing that he had managed to get Hiccup's attention, Hookfang motioned for him to follow and then took off. Hiccup figured out that Hookfang wanted him to follow, so he mounted Toothless and they flew after the Monstrous Nightmare. Hiccup realized that they headed for Snotlout's hut and started to become worried that he might be in trouble. They landed on the bridge outside and then Hiccup dismounted Toothless and rushed into the hut. Once inside, Hiccup found Snotlout sitting on his bed looking pale.

"Snotlout?" Hiccup asked worriedly.

"Hiccup?" Snotlout asked as he looked up and saw his cousin, "What are you doing here?"

"Hookfang seemed a little worried, so I..." Hiccup began, only to be intrupted by Snotlout violently coughing.

Hiccup grew more and more worried, so he told Toothless to stay with Snotlout while he he got the others. Toothless obeyed and Hiccup used Hookfang to fly around the Edge and tell Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins about Snotlout. Everyone arrived at Snotlout's hut and Fishlegs immediately went over to examine him. After recording all of Snotlout's symptoms, Fishlegs finally came up with a diagnosis. Unfortunately, he knew it was one that his friends would not like, because he did not like it himself.

"Um, guys, I think I know what's wrong with Snotlout," said Fishlegs.

"Really?" Hiccup asked, "What is it?"

Fishlegs gulped and said, "You all might wanna sit down."

Everyone complied, taking a seat on either a chair, a stool, or the floor, and waited to hear the diagnosis. Fishlegs took a deep breath, unsure of what to say.

"Oh Thor," said Fishlegs, "I'm not sure if I can say it."

"What?" Astrid asked, "What is it?"

"Yeah, don't leave us hangin'," said Tuffnut.

"Well, it's just, you're probably not gonna like what you're about to hear," said Fishlegs, " _I_ don't even like it."

Snotlout groaned in annoyance and yelled, "Fishface, would you spit it out already?!"

Fishlegs finally forced himself to tell everyone, "Snotlout, I think you have the Scourge of Odin."

At the new revelation, everyone gasped and Snotlout shrieked, "What?!"

"It's the only thing that fits your symptoms," said Fishlegs.

"So you're telling me that I have a plague that tore through the Archipelago centuries ago and wiped out entire Viking villages?!" Snotlout asked in a scream.

"I'm afraid so," said Fishlegs.

"But that's impossible," said Hiccup, "There hasn't been a case of the Scourge of Odin since the last out break. And that was centuries ago."

"Hiccup, all the signs are there," said Fishlegs.

Hiccup sighed and said, "Okay, let's assume that you're right. How do we cure it?"

"I'm not sure," Fishlegs sadly admitted.

"There's gotta be someone who knows more about the Scourge," said Hiccup.

"There is!" said Fishlegs in realization, "Gothi! She's a master healer. If anyone knows how to cure the Scourge of Odin, it's gotta be her."

"Then we have no time to lose," said Hiccup, "Astrid, take Stormfly and fly to Berk. Go to Gothi's and gather whatever notes you can concerning the Scourge of Odin."

"Okay," said Astrid, "I'll grab a map and some previsions. If we leave tonight, we should be back by tomorrow."

"Not to worry, my friends! I already have the answer!" Tuffnut announced. He then reached inside his tunic and pulled out a piece of bread, "Bing! Oh yeah. Here, Snotlout, eat this."

Tuffnut tried to hand it to Snotlout, only for him to flinch away and say, "No way, man! That's been in your tunic! And it's moldy!"

Ruffnut raised an eyebrow and asked, "Seriously, bro? You think _that's_ gonna cure the Scourge?"

"Oh it will. Trust me. One time, I had a really bad cold and I decided to eat some moldy bread. Don't ask me why, because I don't know. But, boom! Instantly cured," Tuffnut explained. Everyone, including Ruffnut, all looked at Tuffnut skeptically, "Okay, you scoff now. But one day science will recognize my genius. They called old Crazy Uncle Henrik crazy."

"He _is_ crazy, Tuffnut," said Ruffnut, "He married his own beard!"

"Okay, bad example," said Tuffnut.

"Hang on. Isn't the Scourge contagious?" Ruffnut asked in realization, "Shouldn't we be wearing masks? Or maybe we should run out and burn our clothes!"

Before the twins could start anything, Astrid stood up and and yelled, "Nobody's burning anything!"

"And you can't catch the Scourge of Odin by breathing," said Fishlegs, "Or by just putting your hands on a person who has it."

"Oh," said the twins in unison, feeling embarrassed.

"But you guys do bring up an interesting point," said Fishlegs, causing everyone to look at him curiously, "How did Snotlout catch this?"

Everyone silently pondered the question for a moment, and then everyone heard Snotlout cough once again. Hiccup rushed to his cousins side to comfort him. His eyes landed on the bandages on Snotlout's left arm; the very spot where he got scratched during patrol hours ago!

"Snotlout, is there something you left out when you told us what happened on that boat?" Hiccup asked. Snotlout was reluctant to answer until Hiccup insisted, "Snotlout, this is important. Tell us everything."

Snotlout took a breath and then told everyone, "The bodies inside the boat... had pale green skin."

Everyone gasped in horror at what they heard.

"That explains everything," said Fishlegs, "The man that grabbed you must've had it and spread it to you when he scratched you."

"Snotlout, you should've told us about that sooner, you muttonhead!" Astrid yelled, and then she let out an exasperated sigh and said, "I have to get to Berk."

"Okay, Astrid," said Hiccup, "Be careful."

"I will," said Astrid.

And with that, Astrid left the clubhouse to gather some previsions for herself and Stormfly. Once she finished, Astrid mounted her dragon and took off for Berk. While Astrid and Stormfly were on their way to Berk to retrieve Gothi's notes, Hiccup and the others stayed behind to watch over their sick friend.

"You're gonna be alright," said Hiccup, "You'll see."

"I hope so," said Snotlout, with a slight moan.

While Hiccup comforted Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins watched in concern. Snotlout may get on people's nerves a lot, but seeing him in this state was really hard to watch; Ruffnut for one almost wanted to cry.

"He's gonna be alright, isn't he?" Ruffnut asked.

"It's hard to say at this point," Fishlegs sadly admitted, "All we can do right now is wait for Astrid to get back. Hopefully we'll be able to save him in time."

"What do you mean?" Tuffnut asked, "How much time does he have?"

Fishlegs sighed sadly and said, "The Scourge of Odin moves swiftly, claiming it's victim in three moons."

"But, one moon is about to pass now," said Tuffnut, fearfully.

This new knowledge filled the twins with fear. Snotlout had since passed out and fallen asleep, so he did not hear them, but Hiccup heard what they said. However, Hiccup refused to accept the idea of losing his cousin; Snotlout was strong, and he believed that he could beat this illness.


	3. Information about the Cure

**Information about the Cure**

After hours of flying, Astrid and Stormfly finally arrived at Berk and made a beeline for Gothi's hut. Upon arrival, they were greeted by the healer's Gronkle. Then the dragon's rider came out and asked the shield maiden via scribbles what brought her to her hut all the way from Dragon's Edge.

"I need whatever notes you have on the Scourge of Odin," said Astrid, "Snotlout caught it during patrol."

Gothi's eyes widened in fear and she nodded her head 'yes' and went inside to fetch her notes about the Scourge of Odin. Astrid paced back and forth as she waited nervously for the healer to come back out with the notes she needed. As she waited, Astrid started to become more and more nervous and worried; what if Gothi found nothing that could help? What if she did not make it in time to save Snotlout?

Suddenly, Fanghook landed nearby and Gustav came up to the hut and greeted the girl who formed the team he was currently leading.

"Hey, Astrid," said Gustav, "Fanghook and I saw you and Stormfly arrive. We saw you two land here and were hoping to catch up. Maybe go for a fly."

"Sorry, Gustav," said Astrid, "Stormfly and I are only here to get notes from Gothi. We're leaving right after we get them."

"Why?" Gustav asked, "What's the hurry?"

"We've got a really sick dragon rider," said Astrid, "And he needs a cure pronto."

"Whoa," said Gustav, now feeling concerned, "Who is it? It's not Hiccup, is it?"

Astrid shook her head and said, "It's Snotlout."

"What's wrong with him?" Gustav asked.

Astrid started to wonder if she should tell him or not. Part of her felt that she should tell him and have him tell Spitelout, feeling that Spitelout deserved to know what was happening with his son. Although, another part of her felt that it might be dangerous to let that information get out, fearing that it might cause a panic throughout the whole village. Before Astrid could make her choice, she felt someone tap her arm and turned to see Gothi holding a scroll out to her; these had to be the notes she came for!

"Thank you, Gothi," said Astrid, taking the scroll from the old woman. Astrid was just about to take off when Gothi stopped her and scribbled in the dirt asking if she should tell Spitelout what happened. Astrid finally made her choice, "I guess it's only right that he knows. It is his son after all."

"Knows what?" Gustav asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Gustav, I don't have time to talk," said Astrid, "I really need to go."

With that, Astrid mounted Stormfly and took off into the air. Gustav turned to Gothi to ask her what was wrong, and she told him what Astrid told her. Gustav finally understood why Astrid was in such a hurry to leave and why Spitelout should know. As the leader of the A-Team, Gustav felt it was his responsibility to tell Spitelout, so he took Fanghook to go look for him.

* * *

Back at Dragon's Edge, Snotlout was still sick in bed and just waking up. He could see that Hiccup was waiting impatiently for Astrid to return with Gothi's notes. His impatience was reflected in the fact that he was currently pacing back and forth.

"Hiccup, stop that pacing already," Snotlout moaned, "You're gonna make a hole in the floor."

"Sorry," said Hiccup, "I'm just really worried."

"Relax, Hiccup," said Snotlout, "I'm sure Astrid's fine. She's tough, she can take care of herself."

"I don't have any doubts about how strong Astrid is," said Hiccup, "What I'm worried about is you. She's on her way back with Gothi's notes that could contain information about how to cure you."

Snotlout smiled at his cousins words and then Fishlegs came in. "Hey, Hiccup, why don't you get some rest? I'll watch over Snotlout."

"How about you both get some rest?" Snotlout suggested, "I have Hookfang."

Hiccup was about to reply when he and the others heard Stormfly land outside. He met up with Astrid, who handed him the notes she went to get.

As Hiccup read Gothi's notes, Astrid approached her sick friend and said, "Hey, Snotlout. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," Snotlout answered. He then smiled and said, "It might help me feel better if you warm me with your body. I'm feeling a little chilly."

Astrid rolled her eyes and then covered him with a blanket and said, "Even when you're sick, you're the same old Snotlout."

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Snotlout.

At that moment, Hiccup found something in Gothi's notes that made him smile. "There's a cure!" he declared, "In Gothi's notes, there's a cure for the Scourge of Odin!"

"Really?" Snotlout asked, sitting up, "I'm so relieved!"

"It says right here that the cure for the Scourge of Odin is a green solution made from the saliva of a Buffalord dragon," Hiccup said, reading from the scroll. He noticed that both Astrid and Fishlegs were silent and looked upset about something, "What? What is it?"

"Guys, Hiccup just read about a cure for my illness," said Snotlout, "I'm gonna be fine. Shouldn't you be happy."

"That is good news," said Fishlegs, "Except... Well... The thing is..."

"There aren't any Buffalord," Astrid finished sadly, "They were all hunted to extinction during the Scourge's last out break."

"No," Snotlout said in shock, "That can't be. That can't be true."

"That's right," said Hiccup, "We don't know for sure that they're all gone. We need to get out there and find one."

"Hiccup, think about this rationally," said Astrid, "We don't even know where to start looking."

"Astrid's right," said Fishlegs, "There's no mention of the Buffalord anywhere. It's like they were completely wiped from history."

"We can't just give up," said Hiccup, "Snotlout's life is on the line! We have to do something!"

Suddenly, everyone heard Snotlout coughing violently and saw him fall over back on the bed. Hiccup immediately rushed to his side and Snotlout looked up at him, his eyes filled with fear.

"Hiccup... I'm scared," Snotlout whispered before he passed out again.

Hiccup put the blanket back on Snotlout and said, "I'm not giving up on you. We're family."

With that, Astrid and Fishlegs went to get whatever research material they could find on dragons; the Book of Dragons, Bork's papers, even the Dragon Eye notes. Hiccup was right, they could not just give up on one of their own; not without trying everything they could. Hiccup decided to stay with Snotlout a little longer, just to make sure he rested. He only hoped that their research would not be in vein.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope I did a good job on this one. Please be honest. I felt that it might make sense for Gustav to stop by after seeing Astrid arrive at Berk and to have Gustav feel that it's his responsibility to tell Spitelout. Gustav is the leader of the A-Team and Spitelout is one of his riders after all. I also hope that I captured the other riders accurately.


	4. Discovery and Complications

**Discovery and Complications**

Fishlegs had spent the rest of the morning pouring through all of the research material that he had, hoping to find an answer. Astrid and the twins helped as best they could, while Hiccup watched over Snotlout. So far, the only things they found on the Buffalord were pretty general, not very much to go on. They stopped working when they heard footsteps and saw Hiccup walking into the clubhouse.

"How is he?" Astrid asked, referring to Snotlout.

"Resting," said Hiccup, as he walked over to the table, "What've you found?"

"We couldn't find anything in the Book of Dragons or Bork's Papers," Astrid sadly admitted.

"And I spent the last few hours combing through my Dragon Eye research," said Fishlegs, "During my research, I found some old notes. I didn't think much of them at first, but..."

Fishlegs ended his sentence by handing Hiccup a piece of paper with the notes on it. Hiccup took the paper and his eyes widened in surprise at what he found.

"The Buffalord!" Hiccup said, and then he signed and added, "But nothing on it's location. There's really not much about it here at all."

"It's big, has ram-like horns, and lives on plains. That's something," said Fishlegs, earning him annoyed looks from both Hiccup and Astrid, "I'll keep looking."

While Fishlegs started sifting through the papers, the twins found some drawings on the table; they were mostly just squiggly lines and dots.

"What's this stuff?" Tuffnut asked.

"That's nothing. Just some Dragon Eye tracings," said Fishlegs, "No useful information, just archaic dots and slashes."

As Fishlegs explained, however, the twins appeared to see something in the markings. Hiccup took notice of this and asked, "What? You guys see something?"

"Yeah," said Tuffnut, "These make a map."

"Duh!" said Ruffnut, "How do you guys not see that?"

Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs looked confused at what the twins said. And then the twins started putting the tracings together and shifted them around as Tuffnut explained what each image actually was.

"See, those squiggles are water, that big nose is an island, those lines are sea stacks," Tuffnut explained as he moved the tracings into alignment to create a shape with the images, "And right here would be..."

"The Buffalord!" Hiccup finished, recognizing the image of the creature as the general description of said dragon.

"Okay, how did you guys do that?" Astrid asked.

"We're experts at interpretating abstract images," said Ruffnut, "Watch this."

Ruffnut held up a piece of paper with a straight line on it and Tuffnut answered, "A boat." Next she held up a picture of three straight lines and Tuffnut said, "A pineapple." She held up a picture of an oval and Tuffnut said, "Mom."

Astrid and Fishlegs looked confused, but Hiccup was more focused on the image the twins made. It seemed as though he realized something.

"Actually, this looks familiar," said Hiccup.

Hiccup took out a map of their island and others nearby. He placed the tracings on the map and moved them to one that was not that far away from them and shifted them around until they formed the same shape as the island that he found on the map. Everyone smiled at what their leader had found.

"We found it, Hiccup!" Fishlegs cheered, "We found it!"

Hiccup slammed his hand on the map and said, "We a location. Now let's hope to Odin they still exist."

* * *

The riders wasted no time in gathering previsions and taking off on their dragons to the island where they might find a Buffalord dragon. Hiccup stopped only to tell Hookfang to look after Snotlout while they were gone.

The riders flew together until they finally found the island from the map. It was a small island with lots of grassy plains; perfect environment for the Buffalord dragon.

"There it is!" Astrid shouted to the others, "It looks just like the one on the map! If there are any Buffalord, that's where they'll be!"

The riders landed on the island their dragons and surveyed the area. Hiccup then turned to speak to the others.

"Now, these dragons were supposedly hunted to extinction," Hiccup explained, "So, if there are any left, they will have developed a weariness towards humans."

"Which means we need to move quickly," Astrid agreed.

"And remember, we have less than two moons to find this dragon and bring the cure back to the Edge," said Hiccup.

"So, let's spread out and search the island," said Astrid, "Signal if any of you find anything."

With that, the dragon riders took off to search for any trace of the dragon that could save their friends' life. They flew in separate directions hoping to cover more ground. They flew around the island for the rest of the day with no luck. Some were starting to wonder if they would ever find a Buffalord.

As Hiccup and Toothless flew solo, they were both starting to get tired; Toothless even let out a yawn, which Hiccup noticed.

"I know, Bud. I'm tired too. But we have to keep looking," said Hiccup, feeling guilty for pushing his dragon. He then spotted a stream below and said, "Tell you what, we'll land here and get some water."

Toothless eargerly obeyed and flew down to the stream below. After landing, Hiccup dismounted Toothless and allowed him to get a drink of water while he himself filled his canteen. Hiccup drank his water from the canteen until he noticed Toothless started sniffing the air. Without warning, Toothless went bounding across the stream, like he was tracking something on the other side.

"Toothless?" Hiccup asked as he followed his dragon, "What is it, Bud?"

Hiccup followed Toothless across the stream until he found a huge pile of dragon poop. However, it was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The poop was green with what appeared to be vegetation sticking out of parts of it. He had no clue what this could be, so he had Toothless fire a plasma blast into the air to signal the others. After that was done, all he had to do was wait for them to arrive. As he waited, Hiccup started to become more and more worried for Snotlout; they may have had a lot of disagreements, but Snotlout was still his friend and his cousin. It was dark by the time the other dragon riders arrived at the spot where Hiccup and Toothless were waiting.

"We saw Toothless' signal in the air," said Astrid as she dismounted Stormfly, "What did you find?"

"You guys have to take a look at this," said Hiccup. He then led his friends to the dragon poop that he found.

"Whoa!" Tuffnut said, "That is one huge pile of poop!"

"What made that?" Ruffnut asked.

"I'm guessing a pretty big dragon," said Astrid.

Fishlegs examined the poop closely and noted, "Large size, unusual coloration."  
Fishlegs grabbed a piece and smelled it, "Vegetarian diet. Not the remainants of any dragon I'm familiar with. And I know my dragon droppings."

"Could be the Buffalord," said Astrid, "That would explain why it lives on the plains. How many dragons could there be that eat plants?"

"Exactly," said Fishlegs. He then held the poop out to Hiccup and Astrid, who recoiled in disgust, and continued, "And look, it's still fresh. Last couple of hours. This dragon is still somewhere on this island."

"Fishlegs, would you get that out of our faces?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know what you're complaining about, A," said Tuffnut, "It has a very distinctive bouquet. Sort of herbal. It's quite nice."

Tuffnut then grabbed a piece of poop and started sniffing it. Astrid instantly covered her mouth and said, "I think I just threw up in my mouth." She looked back at Fishlegs and saw him sniffing the poop again. She recovered her and said, "There I go again."

Hiccup cleared his throat, getting his friends' attention, and said, "Well, if the dragon is still here, then I might know how to find it." Hiccup walked over to Toothless and grabbed his satchel. "This is new dragon tracking equipment," he explained, "Now, it hasn't been field tested yet, but it's worth a shot."

Hiccup then reached inside the satchel and tossed a strange looking substance on the ground. The substance glowed in the dark and revealed a set of dragon footprints. Fishlegs immediately recognized the substance that Hiccup used.

"Flightmare algae. Of course!" Fishlegs announced.

"Now, hopefully a dragon this large doesn't move too fast," said Hiccup.

Hiccup led the way and sprinkled more algae on the ground, revealing more footprints. The team followed Hiccup further and further, finding more footprints along the way. They stopped when Hiccup sprinkled algae and nothing appeared.

"What happened to the tracks?" Astrid asked.

"It must've taken flight here," said Hiccup, "Good thing the algae wasn't my only piece of equipment."

Hiccup reached back into his satchel and pulled out a strange looking spyglass. It has a handle and the only lens was the large one.

"It's like a spyglass," said Fishlegs.

"But for looking at stuff up close," said Hiccup, "I've been calling it a magnifying glass."

Hiccup crouched down to the ground and started using his magnifying glass to look for any kind of evidence that a Buffalord had been by. It only took a few seconds for him to find something.

"This way," Hiccup said, pointing up ahead.

"Are you sure?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Hiccup. To prove his point, he held up what he found and said, "Dragon scale."

Hiccup continued to lead the team up a hill until they reached the top. Unfortunately, the sun was just starting to rise as they made their way up, so they had to shield their eyes once they made it to the top.

"I don't see anything," said Astrid.

"Does this mean we came all this way for nothing?" Ruffnut asked in disbelief.

Hiccup knew that there had to be something there, so he put on his spectacles and looked. Sure enough, he found something. It was a large creature with horns and wings.

"We didn't come here for nothing," said Hiccup. He handed the spectacles over to Astrid and said, "Take a look."

Astrid took the spectacles and looked up ahead. She did not expect to see anything, but then her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw.

"Hiccup, is that what I think it is?" Astrid asked.

"Yes," said Hiccup, smiling, "A Buffalord."

"Really? Alive?!" Tuffnut asked, and then tried to look ahead to see it. Unfortunately, he forgot about the sun, "Ow! My eyes!"

The others simply ignored Tuffnut and went down the hill slope. As they got closer, the team was able to get a better look at the dragon. had golden brown scales and that it's head was similar to a tortoise's, with ram-like horns growing on the sides of it's head, and a single horn growing atop the skull. It had very large wings, and four small legs that are positioned close to the middle of its body. It's body was quite bloated it had to be at least thirty feet long from head to tail. The dragon was currently feeding on grass and not paying attention to the riders.

Figuring that this was as good a time as any, Hiccup told his friends, "You guys distract the Buffalord while I get it's saliva."

"No way, Hiccup," said Astrid, "I'm not letting you do that alone. We don't know anything about this dragon. For all we know, it could be aggressive. I've got your back."

Seeing no point in arguing with Astrid, Hiccup sighed and said, "Alright, but everyone else, keep it's attention off of us."

"Okay," said Fishlegs, "Be careful, you two."

"We will," said Hiccup, and then he turned to Astrid and said, "C'mon. We have to hurry. We don't have much time."

Astrid nodded and followed Hiccup as he snuck up behind the Buffalord quietly. Fishlegs and the twins moved in front of the dragon to distract it as instructed. The Buffalord appeared to be more interested in grazing than anything else. It did look at Fishlegs and the twins once, but it was more curious about what they were doing there than angry about them being there. Of course, Fishlegs and the twins misinterpreted it's expression entirely and ran away screaming. Astrid and Hiccup saw that and groaned in annoyance. However, time was a factor, so Hiccup just approached the Buffalord with a cup while Astrid kept an eye on the dragon just in case it tried to attack Hiccup.

"Okay, easy," Hiccup whispered as he brought the cup closer to the dragons' mouth to catch some of it's drool. He waited eagerly for the drool to fall into the cup. Finally, a small amount of drool fell from the dragons' mouth into the cup. "Yes!"

"We got it!" Astrid called as she and Hiccup ran back to the others. The others cheered as Hiccup ran to Toothless.

"That was easy," said Fishlegs, smiling.

"Now let's get back to the Edge and..." Hiccup said as he mounted Toothless. However, once he looked inside the cup and was shocked by what he found, "What the...? It dried up!"

Fishlegs sighed and said, "Great. Now what do we do?"

"We rope him and take him back to Dragons Edge," said Hiccup, "It shouldn't be too hard, right?"

On Hiccup's instructions, the other dragon riders called their dragons. The dragons instantly arrived and the riders grabbed some ropes and tied them around the Buffalord. The dragon, surprisingly, was unaffected by the fact that humans were trying it up. Something that Fishlegs was quick to take note of.

"It's remarkably docile for a dragon this size," Fishlegs noted, "Almost Yak-like."

"That's good for us," said Astrid, "That makes our job easier."

"Aww," said Ruffnut, "He's kind of cute."

As Hiccup was pulling the rope towards Toothless, Tuffnut walked up to him and said, "Hey, Hiccup, can we keep him? I promise I'll walk him and feed him and stuff. We already know his poop doesn't smell. And he doesn't even act like it. Unlike Ruffnut, who acts like her poop doesn't smell."

"We need to get him back to Snotlout," Hiccup firmly reminded the male twin.

After much effort, Hiccup finally managed to tie the rope to Toothless' tail. He then mounted his dragon and told the others to follow him. Everyone ordered their dragons to take flight, which they did. At first the Buffalord did not move from the spot where it was grazing. And then, after some tugging and a little encouragement from Hiccup, the dragon flapped it's wings and started flying and followed the others. The dragon riders cheered and then started flying away to bring the Buffalord back to Dragons Edge. It seemed like all they had to do was guide the dragon to the Edge and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, for the dragon riders, things are not always that easy.

Once they were a couple of yards away from the island, the Buffalord realized it was being taken away from there and started expanding. It also sprouted spikes from it's body and prepared to attack. Astrid saw this and was quick to inform Hiccup and the others.

"Guys!" Astrid called, "Something's wrong!"

Before anyone could react, the dragon grew so big that it broke the ropes that held it. Once it was free, the dragon started breathing fire everywhere and then turned around to fly back to the island.

"No!" Hiccup shouted, "Stay with it! We have to get it back to the Edge!"

The riders tried to stop it from going back, only to end up getting attacked. Fishlegs and the twins almost got impaled by the spikes it shot from it's body, while Astrid and Hiccup nearly got burned by it's fire. With the riders out of the way, the Buffalord landed on the ground, calmed down, returned to regular size, and then went back to grazing. The riders stared at the dragon with wide eyes.

"What just happened?" Astrid asked.

"The Buffalord appears to be fine so long as he's on his island," Fishlegs guessed.

"Perfect," said Ruffnut, sarcasm in her voice, "We can't bring back the spit and we can't bring back the dragon."

"So what do we do?" Tuffnut asked.

Hiccup started thinking about their next move. They had to get the cure for Snotlout, but they were running out of time and options. If they try to bring back just the saliva in a cup, it would dry up before they get back to the Edge. If they tried to bring the dragon, it would get riled up and attack them to return to the island. They had to cure Snotlout, but they needed the dragon to do that. And that was when he realized what they had to do.

"If we can't bring the Buffalord to Snotlout, then we'll have to bring Snotlout to the Buffalord," said Hiccup.

Astrid nodded in understanding and said, "I'm on it. Let's go, Stormfly."

"No," said Hiccup, "Toothless is the fastest dragon. I'll go get Snotlout."

"Okay," said Astrid, "But be careful. We can't afford to have you both infected."

"I'll be fine," said Hiccup, and then he looked at Toothless and said, "Let's go, bud."

With that, Toothless took off and flew back in the direction they came, back to Dragons Edge; hopefully they were not too late to save their fellow rider.


	5. So Close

**So Close**

Back at Dragon's Edge, Hookfang watched in worry as Snotlout slept. He watched as his chest moved up and down to indicate that he was still breathing. Hookfang inwardly feared that his riders' chest might stop moving at any moment. At this point, Snotlout's skin had started turning pale green, meaning that they were running out of time. However, Snotlout was unaware of what was going on as he had a happy dream.

 _*Snotlout's Dream*_

 _After Spitelout left little Snotlout alone in his room, the boy cried as he laid in bed and tried to sleep. He flinched upon feeling a hand touch his shoulder, and then looked up to see his mother, Cora, smiling warmly at him._

 _"It's okay, Snotlout," Cora said in a kind and gentle voice, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Mommy's right here. And I won't let anything happen to you."_

 _Snotlout started to calm down enough to smile at his mother. She then pulled him into her lap and held him close as she started to sing his favorite lullaby, "Ba Ba Black Yak." As he listened to the song, huddled in his mother's arms, Snotlout felt so safe that he started drifting off to sleep._

 _*End Dream*_

Snotlout awoke to the sounds of footsteps coming his way. The sound was familiar, thump-click, like the kind from a person with one metal leg; Hiccup. The footsteps were also pretty fast paced, as though he were in a hurry. When Hiccup finally made it to his hut, Snotlout started to slowly push himself up so he could greet him.

Before he could say anything, Hiccup rushed over to his side and said, "We have to go, now!"

"What?" Snotlout weakly asked, "Why?"

"We found a living Buffalord, but it won't leave it's island," Hiccup explained as he started trying to pull his cousin to his feet, "The only way to get you better is to get you to the island."

Hiccup then started leading Snotlout out the door to Toothless. At one point, Snotlout nearly fell over because the illness was making him physically weaker. Luckily, Hiccup caught him and helped walk him over to Toothless. Hiccup helped Snotlout onto Toothless' saddle and then prepared to mount up himself when he heard a low whine. He looked and saw Hookfang looking sadly at Snotlout; like he did not want his rider to be separated from him.

"Okay, you can come along, Hookfang," said Hiccup, mounting Toothless, "Follow closely behind Toothless."

Hookfang nodded and the two of them took off into the sky. It took some time to get there, but they finally made it to the island of the Buffalord. Once they arrived, Astrid rushed to Toothless just as Hiccup started helping Snotlout down. Hiccup and Astrid each took one of Snotlout's arms and wrapped them around their shoulders. Together, they walked their friend over to a large boulder and laid him against it.

Snotlout weakly opened his eyes and looked up at his cousin and moaned, "Hi-Hiccup..."

Hiccup shushed him and told him, "Just rest. You're gonna beat this, I promise you. You just have to keep fighting."

"I'm not sure... I can," Snotlout whispered between breaths.

"Please, hold on," said Hiccup, "Don't give in. I'm not giving up on you, so don't give up on yourself."

"Okay," Snotlout breathed, "I'll try."

Hiccup rushed over to the Buffalord and caught it's saliva in the cup once again. Hiccup then brought the cup to Snotlout and held it up to his mouth to help him drink it. Snotlout drank the saliva and Hiccup and the others waited to see if the cure worked. Unfortunately, the only result was Snotlout coughing again, worse than before; it did not work.

"I don't understand," said Hiccup, "Nothing's happening."

"Maybe it takes time for the cure to work," Fishlegs guessed.

Snotlout coughed again, causing his friends to become concerned. Hookfang looked at his rider with worry in his eyes.

"I'm not sure that's it," said Astrid, "Something's wrong."

Fishlegs looked at Gothi's notes again to find something that he might have missed. He frowned as he read, "It says that the green solution will cure the Scourge. Nothing else; just green solution and cure."

"Hold on," said Hiccup, "Did you say _green_ solution?"

"Yes," said Fishlegs.

"But the Buffalord's saliva was clear," said Hiccup, "How could it be a green solution?"

Fishlegs looked at the notes again and then answered, "It doesn't say."

Hiccup groaned and mentally cursed the fact that the information that they needed was left out. As he started wracking his brain to try to figure out how to save Snotlout, Hiccup felt someone grab his hand. He looked over and saw Snotlout holding his hand and looking at him.

"It's okay, Hiccup... You tried," said Snotlout.

"No. No, don't give in!" Hiccup shouted, on the verge of tears. He pulled Snotlout into a hug and told him, "Please, hold on! You have to hold on."

Astrid was about comfort Hiccup and Snotlout when she heard chewing. She turned around and saw the twins eating grass.

"Guys! How can you eat at a time like this?!" Astrid yelled, "Our friends are suffering and you're just stuffing your faces with grass!"

"Hey, people deal with stress differently, okay?" Ruffnut defended.

"And we're eating what the Buffalord eats, because, hey, who doesn't want sweet smelling droppings?" Tuffnut agreed.

"It's a victimless crime," Ruffnut added.

Astrid was about to say something to them about sensitivity when she noticed that the twins' were drooling. And this was no ordinary drool, it was green!

"Hiccup! Look at the twins!" Astrid called, "Their drool's green!"

"What?" Hiccup asked. He slowly set Snotlout down and turned around and saw that the twins did indeed have green drool. "How did that happen?"

"I don't know," said Tuffnut, shrugging his shoulders, "We were just eating this grass that the Buffalord was eating because we were stressing out."

As Tuffnut explained, the wheels in Hiccup's head began to turn. The twins were eating the grass and their drool turned green. The Buffalord had not eaten much yet and it had clear drool. Finally, the pieces were coming together.

"The herbs! Of course!" Hiccup realized, "That's what makes the antidote! The Buffalord saliva mixed with the herbs it eats!"

"Which explains why it won't leave the island!" Fishlegs added, "It can't be too far from the herbs it eats."

"So, all we need is it to eat the herbs and create the solution," said Astrid, and then rushed over to the dragon.

Hiccup then turned his attention back to his cousin and said, "Hang in there, Snotlout. Just a little longer. Please, don't give up."

Astrid led the Buffalord over to a patch herbs on the ground and then instructed the dragon to start eating. The dragon took a few bites of the herbs and started chewing. Everyone waited for something to happen, and sure enough, in no time the Buffalord started to drool; green drool. The cure!

Hiccup eagerly rushed over to the dragon, cup in hand, and prepared to collect the saliva needed to save Snotlout. Unfortunately, just as he was about to collect the cure, a net was fired into the air, forcing Hiccup to jump out of the way before he got trapped. The Buffalord was not so lucky. This took the riders by surprise until they looked around and saw some Dragon Hunters approaching. Among them were both Grimborn brothers.

"Viggo?!" Hiccup exclaimed.


	6. Let's Make a Deal

**Author's Note :** I received a nasty review on my last chapter. However, I refuse to let one flamer stop me from completing my story. This story shall be finished and I intend to write more after this one, including the ones I have in progress. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

* * *

 **Let's Make a Deal**

Hiccup and the dragon riders glared as they watched the hunters surround the Buffalord. Hookfang, out of concern for his rider, spread his wings to shield Snotlout and stood up on his hind legs and growled at the hunters. Viggo merely smiled at the group; specifically Hiccup.

"Well hello, Hiccup. Thank you so much for this gift," said Viggo. He then made a mock sad face and gestured to Snotlout as he added, "I do apologize that you won't be able to use it to save your little friend."

In response, Hiccup and Astrid mounted Toothless and Stormfly and prepared to attack. Fishlegs stayed by Snotlout and tried to figure out how the hunters could have found that island.

"But how?" Fishlegs asked, "There's no trace of this island anywhere. How did you find it?"

"It doesn't matter right now," said Astrid, "We have to stop them before they make off with the Buffalord. If we lose the dragon, we lose Snotlout."

Astrid and Stormfly then took to the air and shot multiple spines at the hunters. Hiccup decided to help out as well and had Toothless fly up and start fighting. While some of the hunters fought back, a few others loaded the Buffalord onto a large cart that they brought for just the occasion; the dragon, of course, was unfazed by what was going on. Hiccup and Astrid saw this and had Toothless and Stormfly fire warning shots at the hunters.

"Show no mercy!" Viggo ordered, "But safeguard our prize."

The twins climbed onto their dragon and took to the to join the fight, leaving Fishlegs to tend to Snotlout, who was starting to grow worse. The hunters fired their crossbows, which were loaded with Dragon Root arrows, at the riders. Unfortunately, the riders proved to be more agile as they dodged the arrows. Stormfly shot back with fire only for the hunters to roll out of the way just in time. Stormfly shot spines at them and got a similar results.

"Hiccup, I can't get a clear shot!" Astrid called.

The hunters did manage to shoot down Barf and Belch and went after them and Ruff and Tuff. Luckily, Hiccup had Toothless fire a plasma blast at the hunters to protect the twins. Hiccup them noticed how close the hunters were to the Buffalord.

"Riders, pull up!" Hiccup called to his team, "We can't risk hurting the Buffalord. We need it."

The dragon took advantage of the riders unwillingness to harm the dragon and circled around it, making impossible for the dragon riders to attack them without harming the Buffalord.

"Viggo, release that dragon," Hiccup demanded, "You have no idea what you're doing."

"Oh, I beg to differ, Hiccup. I am keenly aware of my actions," Viggo said with a smirk. He casually walked to the dragon and pat it on the side as he further explained, "This dragon is exceedingly unique. It will elicit a considerable bounty on the open market."

"Viggo, that dragon is my cousin's only chance at survival," said Hiccup, hoping to reason with Viggo.

"Oh, that's your cousin?" Viggo asked, looking over in Snotlout's direction. He then turned back to Hiccup and said, "Well then, if you care for him so much, you should've kept a better eye on him. My fishing boat was no place for him, you, or any of your riders."

" _Your_ fishing boat?" Hiccup asked.

"You mean those people on board, the ones who died of the scourge. They were your men?" Astrid asked, "You left that boat out there on _purpose_?"

The hunters then loaded the dragon onto the cart to transport it to the ship. Viggo smirked at the scene as he explained to Hiccup and his friends, "It's simple really: supply and demand," he gestured to the Buffalord and then to Snotlout as he said, "I knew where to get the supply, if only I could generate the demand."

Astrid gasped at what Viggo said, while Fishlegs glared at him and said with a voice filled with venom, "You're a monster!"

"Yeah, man," said Tuffnut, "This is sick, even for _you_."

"I wouldn't exactly say 'monster' or 'sick' per say," said Viggo, "I prefer 'savy business man who does whatever is necessary to stay on top'. But, hey, that's me."

"And what if the dragon had been extinct?" Hiccup asked, his hatred of Viggo steadily growing.

"I tend not to dwell on 'what-ifs'," Viggo casually answered, "It leaves you barren. All I can say is that it wouldn't have been _my_ loss."

Hiccup shot Viggo a death glare when he said that. Snotlout, a person, is dying and Viggo is acting like it is not a big deal! Hiccup knew Viggo was ruthless and crafty, but he had no idea he was that heartless! In that moment, Hiccup decided that he could no longer stand for this.

"That's it," Hiccup growled, "Toothless..."

Toothless got ready to fire a plasma blast at Viggo, who did not even look fazed. He simply turned to his brother and said, "Ryker."

Ryker held his sword close to the Buffalord and raised it up, ready to strike at any moment.

Hiccup saw this and screamed, "No!" Toothless immediately stopped his attack.

Viggo looked up at Hiccup and said, "I'd think twice about my actions if I were you, Hiccup ."

"And your profits?" Hiccup asked, reminding Viggo of what he would lose.

"As I said before: business is business," said Viggo, "This is a loss, but it's a loss I'm willing to incur. The question is, are you?"

Hiccup started thinking over the choices in his head. If he gave them the dragon, the dragon could end suffering a fate worse than death. However, if they tried to take out the hunters, they risk hurting or killing the dragon; assuming Ryker did not kill it first. Hiccup then heard a moan and looked to see Snotlout even worse than before. It was then that Hiccup knew what he had to do.

"Okay, Viggo, you win. Take the dragon," Hiccup said in defeat, "But let us have what we came for: the Buffalord's saliva. It's the antidote for the Scourge of Odin. I'm not leaving here without it. That's a loss I'm _not_ willing to take."

"No, Hiccup..." Snotlout called in a weak voice as he reached out to his cousin, "Don't do it. Not for... Not for me... I'm not worth it."

Everyone was shocked at what Snotlout just said; he just told his cousin that he was not worth saving! How could he say such a thing about himself? Everyone wondered. However, they would have to discuss that later, because, at the moment, they had another matter to deal with.

"Do we have a deal? Or are we both leaving here empty handed?" Hiccup asked, "Your call."

Viggo pondered the choices for a bit. Hiccup was allowing him to just take the Buffalord and all he asked in return was the saliva to cure his cousin; in other words, both sides benefit. Seeing no real downside to the deal, Viggo gestured for Ryker to remove his sword and Ryker obeyed. Seeing that it was now safe to collect the cure, Hiccup landed Toothless, dismounted, and approached the Buffalord.

Viggo smiled at Hiccup and said, "I truly missed our time together, Hiccup. My brother leaves something to be desired in many ways."

Ryker growled at his younger brother, obviously offended and annoyed; if they were not brothers, Ryker would beat him over the head.

Hiccup simply ignored the brothers and focused on collecting the green saliva into his cup. Once he was finished, Hiccup stood up and made his way to his dying cousin. Viggo, being himself, could not resist getting one last shot in.

"Don't look so glum, my boy," he said as Hiccup brought the cure to Snotlout, "It takes the fun out of it. Alls well that ends well. Hmmm?"

Hiccup finally made it to Snotlout and held the cup to his mouth. Snotlout drank the saliva, making faces of disgust as he did so. After he forcibly took a few sips, Snotlout felt himself changing. His strength was returning and his skin complexion was changing back to normal.

"Hiccup... I think... I think... " Snotlout said as he smiled.

The team realized immediately that the cure was, indeed, working and started cheering. Snotlout slowly started to stand up, shaking a little as he was still recovering. Hiccup caught his cousin just before he fell over and hit the ground and helped him walk over to Hookfang. Said dragon purred as his rider hugged his snout; he was so relieved that Snotlout was going to be alright. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the site. The moment was ruined when Viggo spoke up.

"I'm afraid our time together must end for now, Hiccup," Viggo said, gaining the attention of the riders, "But, fear not, for we will continue our contest in due time. Until then, dear boy, farewell."

And with that, the riders watched as Viggo and his hunters retreated back to their ship, the Buffalord in tow. All they could do was watch as the hunters loaded their prize onto the ship and then set sail.

"He won't get far," said Tuffnut, balling his fists in anger, "Let's go get him!"

"I'm with you, bro," said Ruffnut, standing next to her brother, "We'll show that smug jerk what happens when you mess with one of us!"

"No," said Hiccup, "Let him go. The agreement was that if we get the cure then he leaves with the dragon."

"Hiccup?!" Astrid exclaimed, "After what he did to Snotlout, you're just letting him get away with it?! Are you serious?!"

"I didn't say that," said Hiccup, "But do any of you remember what happened when _we_ tried to take the dragon away from this island?"

"How could we forget?" Fishlegs asked, "I was scared for myself _and_ my Meatlug!" His eyes went wide as he realized what Hiccup was saying, "Oh."

Hiccup smirked as he said, "Those hunters are in for a big surprise."

* * *

On the dragon hunter ship, Viggo stood proudly on the bridge. He was quite pleased with himself; he acquired a unique dragon and all it cost him was a saliva sample. Ryker joined him on the bridge and appeared to have some good news.

"The beast has been secured in the transport ship," Ryker informed his brother.

"Excellent," said Viggo. He looked back at the island for a moment, expecting Hiccup to give chase, only to see nothing, "A bit disappointing. But he is a man of his word. Something to admire about that-"

Before Viggo could finish his sentence, he and Ryker heard a loud thud. Suddenly, without warning, something broke through the deck. Viggo rushed to see what was going on and saw the Buffalord, now bigger and more aggressive, breathing fire everywhere and causing massive damage to the ship. If this kept up, they would all die here at sea!

"Hiccup. He _knew_ this would happen," Viggo hissed. He turned to his hunters and yelled, "Release the beast! Release it before it kills us all!"

The hunters obeyed and removed the chains they had used to secure it. However, the dragon began to take flight before they could remove the last chain. This caused the boat be pulled into the air until Ryker cut the chain with his sword. The brothers watched as the dragon flew back to the island.

"So, we're just letting it go?" Ryker asked, "After all we went through to get it?"

"We have no choice, brother. That creature is far too dangerous to transport. We would have been dead had we kept it," Viggo reluctantly admitted, "We lost today. But, mark my words, Hiccup Haddock will pay dearly for this."

* * *

As soon as it was free of the hunters, the Buffalord flew back to it's island. Once it was close enough, the dragon relaxed and shrank back to regular size as it landed on the ground.

"Good to see the big guy back home," said Astrid, "I can't believe we forgot how aggressive it gets when taken away from here."

"Must've been the panic," said Ruffnut, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah, I was so panicked I forgot how to spell "dimwit"," said Tuffnut, "Does that word have one or two T's?"

Everyone ignored Tuffnut while Snotlout, who was slowly regaining his strength, asked, "So, what's stopping Viggo from coming back to try again?"

"The fact that he'll just get the same result as this time," said Hiccup, "From his point of view, the dragon is useless to him."

"That's good," said Snotlout, relief in his voice. He looked at the dragon and said, "I'd hate for anything bad to happen to one of the ones who saved my life."

Everyone smiled at the Buffalord and then turned serious as Hiccup said, "That leaves just one thing left to do."

With that, everyone mounted their dragons and took to the air, leaving the Buffalord to graze in peace. Hiccup had offered to give Snotlout a lift back to the Edge on Toothless, but Snotlout assured him that he would be fine on Hookfang. As they all flew together, none of the other riders stop thinking about what Snotlout said when Hiccup offered to let Viggo take the Buffalord in exchange for the cure; "I'm not worth it." That was what he said. Why would he say such a thing? They wondered. Hiccup himself made a mental note find out.


End file.
